Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Marcus William Striplin of Pleasant Grove brings his “down and out ache of Texas country” to solo debut as Margaret Chavez, a memorial to his mother.

Produced by Erik Wofford (Explosions In The Sky), “A Loupe” continues in the tradition UNCUT called “a mark of excellence in modern Americana.”

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 Margaret Chavez (Marcus William Striplin) as photographed by Marcus William Striplin.

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“Whirring, lush sonics.” – Speak Into My Good Eye

Listen to “Call For Cull” from “A Loupe” by Margaret Chavez via Speak Into My Good Eye or at the links below.

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Margaret Chavez – Live

12/14/2017: Austin, TX @ Cactus Cafe
1/26/2018: Fort Worth, TX @ Twilite Lounge
1/27/2018: Denton, TX @ Dan’s Silverleaf
1/28/2018: Deep Ellum, TX @ Twilite Lounge

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About Margaret Chavez:

“A Loupe” is a 32-minute, continuously mixed ten-track song cycle arriving under the name Margaret Chavez, a pseudonym that acts a memorial tribute to the mother of the album’s creator, Austin-based songwriter, Marcus William Striplin.

Striplin’s name is familiar to anyone who has followed the indie rock scene that emerged out of Texas in the early 2000’s, specifically Dallas, where Striplin co-founded the band named after the suburb Pleasant Grove in 1999.

In its relatively brief half-decade-or-so initial run, Pleasant Grove earned praise for the “simmering psychedelia” (KUTX, 98.9) of its “songs of broken hearts and broken voices” (Dallas Observer) that, according to MOJO, mixed the “down and out ache of Texas country as well as the sonic outbursts of Neil Young.” In a four-star review, UNCUT dubbed Pleasant Grove a “mark of excellence in modern Americana.”

Whether or not Pleasant Grove broke-up or went on hiatus is irrelevant now, because in 2016, working with Grammy-winning producer Stuart Sikes (Loretta Lynn, White Stripes, Cat Power), the band completed and released the album that it had abandoned ten years earlier.

Right on cue, the newly completed “old” album The Heart Contortionists reminded listeners of what they loved about Pleasant Grove – a folk band’s command of melody with a psych band’s command of reverb – and quickly drew the same kind of love that the band had walked away from a decade prior.

Consequence of Sound called Pleasant Grove’s return “triumphant,” the glossy Dallas-based monthly D Magazine proclaimed The Heart Contortionists “beautiful,” describing songs with “an intensity that sneaks up on you and a heat that never goes away,” and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram summed things up with a nod to Striplin specifically, saying Pleasant Grove’s “melancholy folk-rock, blessed with shadows, brass and Striplin’s plaintive voice — are breathtaking.”

Two years later, Striplin has made a record that surpasses his best work.

“A Loupe” is everything a fan of Striplin’s songwriting and arrangement ideas (here realized by visionary producer, Erik Wofford [Explosions In The Sky, The Black Angels]) would expect and more. With the very personal context of a solo album to work in, the work is indeed, very personal, and “A Loupe” is better for this controlled creative environment.

 “‘Call For Cull’ is a dystopian dance song that I wrote days after the election,” Striplin says of the album’s first single, premiered yesterday via music discovery site Speak Into My Good Eye. “I took a long walk and it kinda washed over me, this idea that modern civility could just roll over and die and that a new way of life could begin if we didn’t swivel our heads on straight and practice empathy and kindness.”

“A Loupe” by Margaret Chavez (Marcus William Striplin) arrives on Jan. 19th, 2018 via Goliad Media Group. Striplin is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Margaret Chavez
“A Loupe”
(Goliad Media Group)
Jan. 19th, 2018


Track Listing:

01. Boy Mumble
02. American Fashion
03. Gone Gone Gone
04. Call For Cull (YOUTUBE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3)
05. A Loupe
06. Grackles and Crows
07. Strange Bouy’s
08. Black Ambulance
09. Two Talons
10. Missing People

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Margaret Chavez Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


Dream System 8’s authentic 80’s-era pop songs are constructed using vintage synths only. RIYL: Vangelis, The Human League, Tangerine Dream.

Duo comprised of “Stranger Things” Emmy-winner, David Klotz, former Hearts of Palm UK vocalist, Erica Elektra, chats with Earmilk about new single.

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Dream System 8 (L-R): David Klotz, Erica Elektra. Photo credit: Polly Antonia Barrowman.

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Dream System 8 – In The Press


“Evokes a dreamlike wonder.” — Billboard

“Beautiful dream pop.” — MAGNET

“The pair are bringing back all the nostalgia.” — Earmilk

“Jam packed with vintage synth tones.” — mxdwn.com

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Dream System 8 chats with Earmilk and shares the new single “Shine A Little Light.” Listen here or at the links below!

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About Dream System 8

Dream System 8 is a newly-formed, synth-based pop duo out of Los Angeles that combines the talents of veteran musicians David Klotz and Erica Elektra.

The vintage instruments used on the band’s upcoming debut album (out Feb. 9th, 2018 via Minty Fresh) are veterans, too, and include a large assortment of Rolands, Korgs, and Yamahas. Not only is the musical partnership of the humans in Dream System 8 new, so is the relationship to the band’s large brood of keys.

Klotz, whose day job has earned him four Emmy awards as the Music Editor of television shows such as “Stranger Things,” “Game of Thrones,” and “American Horror Story,” started acquiring the gear in 2015.

“I was inspired when I started working on ‘Stranger Things’ in 2015 and first heard the score,” Klotz recalls. “I loved the sounds that the show’s composers created with synths. It was unlike anything I’d heard before in the world of film scoring.” Klotz, who has been making records under various band names for years, began plotting to make a record of pop songs based around the sound of these keyboards. His first stop was eBay.

Recording with synths from the early 1980’s, Dream System 8’s debut emerges from these origins of artifice with natural-sounding pop songs inspired by Vangelis, The Human League, Tangerine Dream, and Duran Duran. The latest single from Dream System 8 is “Shine A Little Light,” premiered via Earmilk alongside an interview with Klotz and Elektra. Follow this link to read the piece and to hear “Shine A Little Light” now.

“Pretty much every vintage synth we own is on ‘Shine A Little Light,’Klotz says. “I’m pretty sure it’s the only song on the album with that honor.” He continues, explaining the origins of the track, “Erica and I had just acquired a more gear when we met to start writing together one Saturday. One of the new toys was a LinnDrum, an early 80’s drum machine heard on countless records including tracks by Madonna, Tears For Fears, Berlin, and the list goes on. I created a beat on the LinnDrum and connected it to our Roland Jupiter 8 keyboard. This was a cool revelation for us at the time, making these two old analog beasts from the 80’s communicate with each other.”

Previously, Dream System 8 recently released the debut single “Losing All of You,” and shared the music video for the song via Billboard. Klotz and Elektra also spent some time chatting with Billboard about the project. Read the full interview and see the music video for “Losing All of You” here.

The debut album by Los Angeles-based duo Dream System 8 is scheduled to arrive on Feb. 9th, 2018. David Klotz and Erica Elektra are available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Dream System 8 chats with Billboard and shares the music video for “Losing All of You.” Watch here or listen at the links below!


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Dream System 8 Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


Monday, November 27, 2017

Tonight! J Hacha de Zola takes stage at actor Alan Cumming’s East Village “Club Cumming” for acoustic set of trademark Boozegaze tunes.

Rahway-based musician’s third album “Antipatico” conjures “fire breathing artists like Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and Captain Beefheart,” says Paste.

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J Hacha de Zola as photographed by Miguel Peralta Jr.

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J Hacha de Zola – In The Press

“The kind of alluring character found in old children’s books.” — UTNE

“Possibly the wildest record I’ve heard all year.” — BLURT

“Mutant blues rock.” — Treble Zine

“As enticing as it is distant and strange.” — MAGNET

“Straight from the mind of John Carpenter.” — Elmore

“Possessed and cacophonic.” — Atwood

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J Hacha de Zola – “Lightning Rod Salesman” (taken from Antipatico, out now)

“A wild man in the vein of such fire breathing artists like Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and Captain Beefheart.” – Paste


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Listening to Rahway-based musician J Hacha de Zola’s recently released third album Antipatico invites all of the insightful praise mentioned in the press quotes above. What with a cavalcade of fellow avant artists including ​​Dana Colley of ​​Morphine, ​​Tom Waits collaborator ​​Ralph Carney, ​​Frank London of ​​Klezmatics, and “Psycho Mambo” collective, ​​Gato Loco in tow, it’s not surprising to get exactly what this group of musicians is known for.

That said, Hacha de Zola will take a decidedly different direction tonight when he takes the stage for an all-acoustic solo set at famed actor and all-around renaissance man Alan Cumming’s provocative Club Cumming in the East Village of NYC (505 E. 6th St.) Set time is 7PM EST. Read more about Club Cumming via the New York Times here. RSVP for tonight’s event here.

“The role of religion,  its political power and its ability to reach out and touch a vast amount of common folks in this country is truly terrifying,” Hacha de Zola states when discussing the subject matter of his song “Lightning Rod Salesman,” recently premiered as Paste’s “Daily Dose,” in which writer Robert Ham described the artists as “a wild man in the vein of such fire breathing artists like Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and Captain Beefheart.” Hacha de Zola continues, “I assumed the role of the archetypical preacher man and told the tale of my previous life as a sinner and evil doer under an air of repentance.”

The tune is but one example of the magical voodoo to be found on Antipatico, (translation: “wicked”) which follows-up Picaro Obscuro, the second of Hacha de Zola’s two “Urban Junkyard” albums of 2016.  On Antipatico, ​​Hacha de Zola again practiced his “reductive synthesis” method of, as he elegantly says, “shooting the arrow first and then painting the bullseye around it.”

​​Antipatico, the latest album from J Hacha de Zola, is out now. Hacha de Zola is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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J Hacha de Zola
Antipatico
(Caballo Negro Records)
Out Now
  

Track Listing:

01. Antipatico
02. March of the Hollowmen  (YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3)
03. Lightning Rod Salesman  (YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3)
04. No Situation  (YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3)
05. El Desgraciado
06. On a Sleepless Night
07. Eigengrau
08. That Same Thing
09. Amaranthine
10. A Fanciful Invention (YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3)

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J Hacha de Zola turned Ariana Grande’s “Bad Decisions” into a “swaying barroom roll somewhere between Tom Waits and the Pogues,” according to the most popular cover song website Cover Me. Now he’s back as part of the Cover Me Turns 10 compilation that celebrates the site’s ten-year anniversary. This time Hacha de Zola does a similar, and similarly spectacular re-working of Milli Vanilli’s one-hit wonder. Have a listen to J Hacha de Zola’s take on “Girl You Know It’s True” now!

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J Hacha de Zola clips coupons, folds laundry, waters plants, vacuums, and mops to the concern and dismay of his friends.

Enter J’s world, and check out the mini-documentary “Super Clean.” Watch it here.

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J Hacha de Zola recently recorded a batch of direct-to-vinyl lathe cuts for Leesta Vall’s series of “Office Sessions.”

This unique run is already sold-out, but you can hear J’s favorite takes here.

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J Hacha de Zola Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


Wednesday, November 15, 2017

ATTEMPT single “Against The Light” gets music video by Robert Beatty, cover art creator for Kesha, Tame Impala, Flaming Lips.

Keep this on repeat while you quietly melt into your office chair,” says Paste. “A psychedelic witches’ brew” proclaims MXDWN.

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Trevor Tremaine of ATTEMPT by Kim Conlee

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ATTEMPT – In The Press


“A bit of Holland-era Beach Boys as filtered through a UFO Club aesthetic. Keep this on repeat while you quietly melt into your office chair.” — Paste

“A satin-draped uncanny valley, a clever evocation of all the plush pleasures of ‘70s soft-rock. It’s just as likely to disturb as delight.” — AllMusic

“A shockingly approachable and bare bit of psych pop.” — MAGNET

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Watch “Against The Light” here and listen at the links below.

“A psychedelic witches’ brew full of swirling sonic textures and ear-popping atmospherics.” — MXDWN


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“Against The Light” (Desperate Spirits, Out Now) is the new four-song EP from ATTEMPT, the Lexington, Kentucky-based recording project of Trevor Tremaine, best-known as the drummer of the enduring noise band Hair Police.

Fellow Hair Police member, Robert Beatty is also a successful visual artist who has created cover art for performers such as Kesha, Tame Impala, Flaming Lips, Ariel Pink, and more. Beatty and his work were the subjects of a profile by Vice earlier this year, and most recently, Beatty was named to Rolling Stone’s “Hot List.”

Beatty’s work also extends to the world of music videos with his piece for the title track of the new ATTEMPT release. Watch the video for “Against The Light” via MXDWN’s premiere coverage here.

The clip is a truncated version of the nearly 10-minute long track, about which Tremaine says, “The conceit of ‘Against The Light’ is jaywalking as a metonym for taking a selfish and irresponsible and irrational risk, less for personal gain than to sort of course-correct reality, an act which this song seems to celebrate.”

The song is Tremaine’s first truly collaborative ATTEMPT piece on tape.

“It was built around my vocal harmonies,” he explains. “(Drummer) Dave Farris supplied the layers of Martin Denny (the “father of exotica”) clatter, and Beatty detonated the Lydian sinewave fireworks in the coda. On the final version, I patched a take of the full-band live jam from whence this melody sprung.”

“Against The Light,” the latest EP from ATTEMPT is out now via Desperate Spirits. Trevor Tremaine is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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ATTEMPT
“Against The Light” EP
(Desperate Spirits)
Out Now
  

Track Listing:

01. Cancellations And Delays
02. Items On A Questionnaire
03. Overdraftin’
04. Against The Light  (SOUNDCLOUD | YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE | BANDCAMP | MP3 | VIDEO)

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ATTEMPT Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


Tuesday, November 14, 2017

The Morning Yells shares its pristine three-part harmonies via new in-studio music video for “She Knows Exactly What She’s Doing” single.

Debut from Los Angeles-based foursome compared to Wilco, Fleetwood Mac; Band returns to hometown venue Hotel Café tomorrow evening.

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The Morning Yells (L-R): Curran McDowell, Trevor Smith, Laura Stancil, Phil Stancil. Photo credit: Chase Bescey.

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The Morning Yells – In The Press


“Three-part harmonies with a ‘60s country-meets-pop feel.” — The Bluegrass Situation

“An elegant bridge between folk and classic indie rock. Evokes visions of Wilco and long drives.” — All Things Go

“A batch of high-quality tunes that are simply addicting listens. Blurs the lines between Americana, Fleetwood Mac and, amazingly, Motown.” — The 405

“If there’s a point where Laurel Canyon country meets Bruce Springsteen-esque road-rockers, The Morning Yells were born on that spot. ” — Independent Clauses

 “The band’s perfectly-coordinated harmonies evoke feelings of hope and possibility, passion and potential” — Atwood Magazine

“Draws from classic rock in the same way early Wilco did. Nuanced, layered and catchy.” — MAGNET


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The Morning Yells – Live

11/14/2017: San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
11/15/2017: Los Angeles, CA @ Hotel Cafe
11/22/2017: Los Angeles, CA @ The Satellite

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Check out the premiere of the music video for “She Knows Exactly What She’s Doing” via Atwood Magazine or listen at the links below!


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“Proper Wilted,” the debut EP by Los Angeles-based band The Morning Yells is out now, and the band has also recently shared the in-studio music video for its “She Knows Exactly What She’s Doing” single via Atwood Magazine.

The song orginally premiered at The Bluegrass Situation, which picked up on the band’s pristine three-part harmonies (it helps to have a pair of siblings – Phil and Laura Stancil – in the group), and went on to air the tune on its weekly “The Bluegrass Situation Radio Hour” on Los Angeles-area radio station 88.5 FM.

“We grew up in a family band, playing roots-rock and folk music at festivals and local watering holes throughout Michigan, where we’re originally from,” says Phil, whose warm and reedy tones define the vocals on the EP. “Our Dad taught us everything we know about music, and we fell in love with Beach Boys, America and The Moody Blues by digging through his record collection.”

As The Morning Yells, the siblings are now joined by fellow multi-instrumentalists Trevor Smith and Curran McDowell. It’s Smith who provides the lead vocal on “She Knows Exactly What She’s Doing,” which, along with the rest of “Proper Wilted,” is finding the band compared to luminaries such as Wilco, Fleetwood Mac, and Bruce Springsteen.

“Proper Wilted” was recorded by Mark Rains, best-known for his work with artists as diverse as Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Waylon Jennings, which goes a long way towards explaining the sound of The Morning Yells. In the span of a mere five songs, the band adeptly covers a variety of genres, with each member easily jumping from piano, to guitar, to bass. All four contribute to the songwriting.

“Proper Wilted,” the debut EP by The Morning Yells is out now. Members of The Morning Yells are available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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The Morning Yells
“Proper Wilted” EP
(Golden Boy Records)
Out Now


Track Listing:

01. Must Be You (YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3)
02. She Got Time (YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3)
03. She Knows Exactly What She’s Doing (YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3)
04. Sad Eyed Boy
05. Take Me Somewhere

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The Morning Yells Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion